EDIT 10/13/21: Moved some parts around. Added the first part with Tsunade's perspective as well as changed some dialogue, particularly during Sakura and Tsunade's big talk because the original one felt a little too lighthearted considering the situation, so I toned it down.

[ This chapter has been edited/ fixed as of 10/13/21 ]

Eternal

Part One: Genesis

Chapter Six

Red

Tsunade felt it, that familiar heat. It was one hard not to know once you've felt it. It made one alert of their surroundings, an energy that sent a shiver down your spine depending on how strong it was.

This one was faint. Every step closer to its source, the critical care tent, it grew slightly warmer. It was suppressed. Whoever was the source had yet to awaken their full power yet. Though, if she were being honest, she doubted she, herself, had fully realized her own. Still, it was far stronger than this one. And she had an inkling as to who it was.

Suspicion grew as she realized no one was standing in front of the tent. As per protocol, someone should have been assigned to be. She made a mental note to discuss this in the next briefing which was in a few hours. Though, she supposed, what if they were inside the tent?

Immediately, the thought was scrapped. No, she knew who was in there. And she was there alone. That was probably for the best.

As she made her way inside, she saw it, that glow of green reflected on the white curtain separating her and the source. And behind it was exactly who she suspected.

Sakura Haruno.

The green energy from her hands disappeared, and from behind, Tsunade could tell she was shaking. With the shock of such a thing happening plus the toll it took on the first time one used such power, it was no surprise to the doctor.

Tsunade was now certain; it was no longer a suspicion of hers. Sakura Haruno did possess power. However, she was not expecting power so similar to hers.

"So I was right," she said aloud, startling the younger woman; her head turning to her in alarm.

Color drained the girl's face, her lips pale. This must have been the first time she had ever used it. And that alone told her to rush to her side before Sakura fell on her knees, her body not accustomed to such a thing yet, still weak to her own mysterious energy.

Tsunade caught her before she could fall forward. Perhaps her being asleep would allow her the time to call a certain Uchiha on the newest development.

The woods kept them from the rest of the world. Nothing but the large expanse of nature accompanied the two friends on their hike up Mount Tottabetsu. The sounds of rustling leaves and faint animal noises were a welcoming background noise as they reached their stop at the peak of the mountain. They spent the day going upwards, exchanging jabs at each other about who could reach the top first, but as luck would have it, they both did. As it usually would end in their competitions.

"Woohoo!" Naruto yelled out into the world, his arms stretched out. "I'm the king of the world!"

Sasuke scoffed as he walked to the spot next to him.

Being so high up, he quietly enjoyed the view of the ridges, the mountains, and small rivers that occupied the area. It's places like the one he was in at the moment that gave him peace. Living in the city, it was hard to have any moment of serenity. It was always a rush from one place to another. No one was ever stopping to enjoy the time and place they were in anymore. In the age they lived in, it was about what was next, and what would follow after that. To him, there was always a sort of relief to just think about now.

Naruto smiled, eyeing the area. A flock of birds flew high up where the white clouds mingled with the light blue sky. The sun was out, shining down on the world below it as the trees took in its warmth. But within the green of nature and the blue of the rivers was a bright white spot close to the mountain they stood atop of.

"That must be the research place!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to its direction.

Sasuke followed the direction of his finger and spotted the unordinary spot filled with white tents and heads of people moving about like ants from his point of view.

"Wonder if Sakura-chan's doing alright there." His friend mused, glancing at him with a sly grin.

Sasuke merely grunted, feeling like he didn't need to buy into his goading.

"So did you actually know her name or was that really a guess that night in the manor?" He felt Naruto's elbow poking his ribcage.

He was not going to budge no matter how irritating he got.

Naruto pouted. "Fine. Don't tell me." Squatting down, he folded his arms sulkily.

"Quit acting like a child." Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey, I'm being ignored. I can act how I want!"

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke sighed. "You haven't changed."

"Uh, yeah, I have! I think I'm taller than you now."

"Check your sight."

"I'm pretty sure I am."

"I'm not doing this back and forth again."

"You always do, though."

"Why am I friends with you?"

Naruto feigned hurt, placing his hand on his chest. "Aw! You wound me, Lord Saucy."

"Here we go."

Laughter erupted from Naruto's lips, his hands on his stomach as he fell back onto the grass. "No matter how asshole-y you get, I know you're a huge softy on the inside."

"I will fillet you."

"But really though, that time on the playground when you pushed me off the swing was not fucking cool."

"You were shoving dirt in my eye."

"You wanted dirt shoved in your eye."

"Is this conversation going anywhere?"

"I don't know."

Silence.

"How'd we become friends anyway?"

"Tch, I just asked you the same thing, literally two seconds ago."

"Like you were so mean. You are mean. And I'm me."

Sigh.

"Quit sighing and listen, I'm trying to reminisce here!"

Giving up, Sasuke sat down on the grass, too. "Itachi told me it was one day after school."

Naruto tilted his head in his direction.

"He saw you frowning at me and asked if I knew you. I said no because I wanted to go home. You just approached us, and I've never managed to get rid of you ever since."

"You make it sound like I'm a bad rash or something." He vaguely remembered that day. They went to the same elementary school but were in different classes. They'd see each other in passing but never really spoke much unless they were arguing during break time over little things in the playground. He didn't think they'd get along like they did, but a decade and then some later, there they were.

They let the breeze cool off the sweat that was dripping off of them as they stared into the horizon, neither of them wanting to admit the immediate pull they both had felt when they first met. It was as if they already knew each other. It was why it was so easy for Naruto to push Sasuke's buttons and why Sasuke willingly handled his exuberance. It felt natural.

Sasuke let his eyes wander over to the research site again, thoughts straying to a certain woman with striking pink hair and even more startling green eyes. Not since meeting Naruto had he felt that natural connection to someone. Speaking with her, although their conversations up until then were brief, felt easy, like speaking to a long lost friend. But there was something else he couldn't quite name. It was pulling him towards her, intoxicating him. Something different to that odd closeness he felt with Naruto. This felt somehow more intimate, and he needed to know what it was and why. Why?

He continued to concentrate on the area, his mind not once straying from the questions that began to stack up regarding her, regarding the irregular familiarity he felt to her and to Naruto as well. But the more he stared at the site, the louder the pounding in his brain became.

From a dull tap to something almost ear-grating, Sasuke's head began to throb at the sudden pain. His stomach heaved, its contents threatening to pour out of his system. The throbbing continued even when he shut his eyes tightly, hands massaging his temples. The muscle in his right check flexed trying to refrain himself from groaning out in pain. He felt needles prick his eyeballs, trying to pry them open. He felt his body shut down, everything seemed to stop working, and time seemed to halt. With one eye open, he checked his surroundings.

Devoid of any color, the world around him spun. The trees that were firmly rooted on the earth's soil were floating upwards and the sky turned into the raging sea, shrouds of mist floating above the dark waters. Flames of charcoal attacked, quickly overrunning every space in sight.

He looked beside him, and Naruto was nowhere in sight. Panicked, he stood up, realizing the flames on the waters were heading for him, intimidating him to run or jump in. But there was nowhere to run. He was stranded. Lifting his head, he looked to the sight in front of him.

Flames. A never ending sea. The earth above his head. All of this in grey.

Chaos. It was chaos.

But there was something there.

A lone tree, rising above the water. Its branches stretched high up into the upside-down trees that took the sky's place, piercing the soil above. Patches of soil landed in giant drops on the water. Large ripples came from it, tainting the grey with one solid color: crimson. Bright red crimson. The liquid touched his shoe; he felt the wetness beneath it seeping through, but his eyes never left the tree, the tree he could have sworn was inching towards him.

Then, there was nothing at all.

He felt lighter, like half of his weight dropped. Around him was nothing but silence and lamp posts lighting up the dark, cold night. He felt his feet pound onto the pavement. He was running. Where? He had no clue.

There was an eeriness to the place. He heard no one, but it was an area filled with homes and stores that looked to be lived in and frequented. Everything looked old fashioned yet had some modern essences. He'd never been here before, but it elicited a sense of warmth despite the cold, empty aura. All he could recognize was a symbol, a symbol similar to the symbol of his family's corporation. But the colors were flipped. Red atop white to white atop red. His gaze shifted, and the more it moved, the more petrifying it became.

Bodies upon bodies, bloodied and lifeless on the ground. He felt himself stop, his chest heaving. Staining the fans painted onto the walls, was dried, dark red stains filling the air with a metallic taste.

He felt panic rise within him. Slowly walking through the bodies, eyes filled with fear and confusion as to what he was witnessing. He noticed the stab wounds on their bodies where the blood exited, painting the pavement red.

There, he felt himself begin to run again. His feet led him to a big, traditionally Japanese home. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. It was him. This was his body. Then why wouldn't it react to his brain's simple commands.

'Stop. Run!'

His hands raised to slide door after door open.

One last door.

He could see traces of blood leading up to it, and his hands hurriedly went to open it.

In front of him, two bodies. Pools of blood seeping through the wooden floors. The taste of the air, overwhelmingly like rust had overtaken his taste buds, made him want to vomit. His eyes raked over the lifeless forms in front of him, the same symbol on the walls were sewn onto the back of their clothes, and just like the symbols outside, they were stained with crimson.

As he slowly let his eyes move up, he was met with glowing eyes, as crimson as the blood that surrounded them, that lit up the darkness, leaving him feeling so incredibly small.

So small. So terrified. And so very alone.

"Hey, Sasuke, you alright?" Naruto looked at him with concern.

Sasuke opened his eyes, the throbbing pain ripping his head open disappearing. He was still sitting down, the grass beneath him. He looked around. Not a thing looked out of place. Everything looked just as they were, just where they were supposed to be.

He took a deep breath in, urging himself to calm down before finally speaking. "Yeah."

Naruto didn't believe him. He could practically feel his discomfort. "You sure?"

Instead of an answer from Sasuke, the only reply he got was a loud "meow". Looking to his right, Naruto saw a black cat, eyes a tantalizing copper and fur as dark as night. It was clearly friendly, seeing as it approached Naruto without a second thought, rubbing its head on his leg before laying down between him and Sasuke.

It stared at Sasuke, waiting for him to respond to its presence before meowing loudly once more.

Sasuke got the message, staring right back at the cat until, finally, patting its head. "I'm fine."

Naruto was sure he was anything but.

Sakura woke slowly, her eyes feeling heavier than usual. As the world came into focus and her senses rushed back into her, she could tell that she was in a cottage. But based on the things around it, it wasn't the one she shared with another, though a few years older than her, younger medical researcher.

"I see you're awake. Finally."

It took a second for the voice to register in her mind. She sat up quickly, once realizing it was Doctor Senju. "I'm sorry!"

Tsunade's eyes were quizzical with a shimmer of amusement lurking beneath. Sakura wondered what was so funny. Then again, she wondered why the head doctor was even here.

"You're going to feel groggy the rest of the afternoon, so I suggest sleeping it off."

Groggy. She passed out; she remembered. After she treated that patient. With whatever glowed through her hand.

Slowly, she looked back at Tsunade. "Did you..?"

"Did I see? Yes." The doctor didn't appear all too phased by what she witnessed, far less confused than Sakura was.

"Uh," she stuttered, struggling to form words. "I… just don't know what-"

"It's incredibly shocking, I know." The older woman walked towards where she was sitting, on the other end of the table. "But you'll get over it."

"Get over it?" Sakura parroted mindlessly, still not understanding the situation.

"I was like you when I first used my powers. Eventually, you'll get used to it, as well."

Powers?

Her mind was reeling. It was only a few hours ago when she looked down at her own hand and witnessed it do something she never thought possible. Hands build, create, destroy, heal; she knew that, but they weren't supposed to do any of that without some sort of aid. Aid like force exerted. Aid like grabbing a tool. Aid was not supposed to come through magic.

Magic… Was that what it was? No. She was too old to believe in such things. But what could explain what happened?

When she was younger, she loved fairy tales, loved the thought of being a princess waiting for her prince. But she grew up. She realized she shouldn't wait for someone to help her. She had to save herself. Even with those realizations, she still held some of the naivety within her. She wouldn't admit it out loud to many, but, saving those childlike thoughts and dreams in the world she lived in, it helped. She didn't want to be disillusioned with dreams of grandeur, but to lose the childlike whimsy seemed to her like losing a part of her that told her that it was okay to dream. It was okay to strive for what you want, and it was okay to have a child's positivity.

But magic? If that's what it was. It's one thing to retain some childhood innocence, but to toss her logical side away? She couldn't. There had to be something else.

"I have… powers?" She said slowly, testing the sentence on her tongue.

"Yes. It's what we're calling it. We don't have the science to back up what it truly is yet, but for now, it suffices."

"And you have the same kind of powers? To heal?"

Tsunade grinned. "You don't get as far as I have in this field so quickly without a little help,"

"But you're fift-" The challenging look on her superior's face made her close her mouth before she could finish the sentence. But the news still hit her hard. Her idol, the person she strived to be like in the field, could also do what she did. "I… How?!"

Tsunade grimaced at her tone, her eyes narrowing in irritation. "A little louder, I'm sure the entire site didn't hear you."

Sakura shrunk a little, sheepish. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just… don't understand how and what just happened."

She sighed, grabbing a chair and sitting directly in front of the startled young woman. "You saw a patient in need of help, and without thinking, your body told itself what to do to help."

"That's vague," Sakura said.

Tsunade didn't like that interruption, and Sakura reminded herself of just who was sitting in front of her. It'd be better to hold her tongue.

"As I was saying, like me, you have the ability to heal. I figured it out when I was a little older than you were." Tsunade leaned onto the back of her chair. "I was working my hospital rotation, when I passed by a patient's room. The door was slightly open, so I caught a peek of a man who looked to be choking. The nurse was nowhere to be found, but I used the phone in the room and called her. I rushed in there. He was unconscious. I was ready to perform standard CPR because it felt like the nurse and doctor were taking too long. I had my hands ready, stationed above his chest, when it happened."

Sakura didn't have to ask what 'it' was.

"Naturally, they were pissed I did something without my supervisor, but the man was dying, so what choice did I have?" She shrugged. "We do this to save lives, and a lot of the time, we don't have time to second guess."

Her dark brown eyes were on her now. This was her way of saying she wasn't mad that she acted without a supervisor. But that was far from what worried her.

"So what is 'it'— 'this' exactly?" Sakura raised her hand slowly, confusion laced in her words.

"To be perfectly honest," Tsunade stood. "I don't know."

"You," Sakura stared, slack jawed. "You don't know?!"

"Watch it."

"Sorry."

Yet another sigh escaped her lips. "Yes, I don't know what these 'powers' are exactly," She said, making air quotations. "But what I do know is that, as far as I know, only you and I have the ability to heal like that, specifically."

"Specifically." Sakura had a swarm of questions flying around her brain as she stood and followed her, albeit slowly because of a slight dizziness she felt after getting up. "If you had this power, how haven't you healed the people here?"

"This case is different." Tsunade walked over to where she dropped the stack of files on the desk. Opening a few folders, she slid the contents within it over to the young pinkette.

Sakura eyed them suspiciously before slowly spreading them out. On them were charts, images, and scans of patients within the site. She looked up questioningly. "These..?"

"Are from patients here, yes," she confirmed. "What do you see?"

She held one up, reading through its contents. She held another one with her other hand, eyes scanning it. Her eyes went down to the papers splayed in front of her. Her heart stopped. "They look normal."

Tsunade nodded.

Sakura couldn't believe it. "Nothing wrong in the CT scans, the thermal scans. Nothing in the ultrasound either. But the previous tests! We were sure it was severe sepsis. What about the positive urine drips, the-"

"Things don't always go by the book, Sakura. Usually sepsis kills fast, especially considering the organ failures many of the patients in critical care currently have. But they're still alive, and holding on faster than I'd ever experienced. That doesn't change the fact that this is still sepsis. In a sense. Perhaps not through typical infection. It must be reacting to something we haven't found yet."

Sakura's head was beginning to spin. She could only take so many bombshells at once.

Tsunade observed her. The first revelation really did take a toll on her. During the short period of her being her student, she had never seen her react in such a way. "Sakura."

Sakura raised her head, placing the papers she held up down back onto the table as she watched Tsunade walk towards her, the envelope she was told to retrieve in Tokyo in her hands. Tsunade held it out for her, and she took it from her hands.

As she was opening it, Tsunade spoke. "The first one is of a patient named Natsuki Sato. He was the first."

Sakura took out the papers from the envelope. She felt the oxygen suck into her body. It was a full body thermal scan. And it didn't look like the ones she was just shown. Flaming red lines interspersed within the body looking to connect. They were right where the blood vessels should be. It looked like it was either taking over the blood vessels or were being created right on top of them. "Is this a new pathway?"

A nod.

"Wow. I just…"

"Look at the other one."

Sakura did just that and held the other paper up with her other hand. It looked almost the same, but where the first one was looking like the smaller pathways still needed to connect, the new one was complete. From the brain, all the way down the toes, it was formed and with numerous nodes throughout. And at the top where the forehead was was a perfectly shaped diamond. She looked at it, then looked at the same shape adorned on the doctor's forehead.

"This is yours."

"Yes."

"But… you're fine! Did you go through anything like this?"

"Nothing like this at all. It looks like their bodies can't handle it."

"Then, this new pathway has something to do with the glowing..?" She trailed off. She didn't need an answer. She thought that by saying it out loud would make it less terrifying to think about, but it didn't help at all.

Tsunade didn't reply. She knew that Sakura was connecting the dots. It was quiet for a beat until Sakura said, "Can I get a scan of me?"

"If that's what you want." Figuring it was enough for one day, she walked closer to her seat and placed a hand on her shoulder. Wrinkles of worry on her forehead, Sakura looked up. "I figured you've had enough for today. After your thermal scan, you can go to your room and rest."

Sakura would normally refuse, but today was different. She needed some air and time to process.

Walking out of the pickup truck, Itachi observed the area. This was his first time visiting the site he recently helped fund. Rows upon rows of white tents occupied the area beyond the fence and nearby, a scattering of small huts and cottages. The moon provided the area some light, and a few tents looked to be lit up. Even just a few meters away from it, he could feel the shift in temperature. Nights surrounded by this much vegetation usually guaranteed the air to be cool. During the short drive there, the air conditioning was off in favor of rolling the windows down to enjoy the night air. He couldn't feel it here.

The news still hadn't gone out about his involvement, so he was told to visit at night when the majority of the workers were asleep. Just in case, he donned a black cap and tinted glasses.

In front of the fence, he saw Tsunade standing, foot tapping impatiently. As soon as she saw him, she nodded to the entrance, turned her phone's flashlight on, and began walking. He followed suit.

Walking through the unlit huts, he sensed an unusual tranquility amongst the heat. It was nice, a good shift from his thoughts. Hopefully that tranquility won't change, but he knew that was too much to ask for.

As quietly as they could, they entered Tsunade's cottage.

She turned her phone light off and flipped a lamp switched on. Replacing the night covered room was a brightness that showcased the unorderly kept room. A small bed was placed in the far left corner. A large table with stacks upon stacks of books and paper was strategically placed near the window to the right. He also noticed empty bottles of sake inside the trash can beside it.

He took a seat on one of the wooden chairs situated next to the edge of the table and rested his left arm on it as she moved towards the seat opposite his. "So, what have you found?"

"My hunch was right." She sat down. "She has it."

Itachi felt his eyebrows go up. "When did you find out?"

"Right when she got back. Saw it myself." Placing her elbows on the table, she laced her fingers together and brought them to her chin. "She's a healer."

"And was she aware of this?"

She shook her head. "It was very obvious to me this was the first time she'd experienced doing it. She looked scared, mostly. Not willing to believe it."

"Most people wouldn't." Itachi rubbed his chin and rested it on his hand as he put his elbow on the table. "Have you had her scanned?"

"Just today. She asked for it, in fact."

"You showed her yours?"

"Yes. And a patient's."

Itachi looked at her in surprise, brows furrowed. "So it's confirmed."

Tsunade unlaced her fingers, took a folder from the top of the nearby stack of textbooks, and slid it to the Uchiha. "The first person to have succumbed to it shows signs of the pathway forming within him."

He opened the file and studied it. "Is It similar to when..?"

"The first signs were, but it looks as if their bodies can't handle it. I suspect it's because you were a child that your body reacted the way it did. But we have fully grown adults here suffering far greater than you had. Minus the eye issue."

He swept his hair aside as it was beginning to cover his vision. "Any accounts of the night terrors?"

She shook her head. "None. And it's not like we can ask many of them, they're unconscious."

"Are you going to show your findings?"

She sighed at this. "I would; however, I'm not sure how. I know the first thought would be possible spontaneous human combustion since it looks like their bodies are on fire. But previous scans showed their bodies to be fine. New scans and test results have come in showing there's patients in critical care to have failing organs and yet are not facing the complications that would follow after such. Saying anything now would either cause panic or intense scrutiny. It'd be easier to tell them it's just severe sepsis and come up with some bullshit reason for the cause, but ethically, I couldn't do that. But I also can't keep them here for too long. It's too much of a risk. We still don't know why so many people managed to get them. Could be a contagion, but their test results don't show any signs of such."

The Uchiha pondered for a moment. "Do you have to report to him soon?"

"Yes, though I'd love to avoid that for as long as possible. He's the one who got me into making this public, and since he's heading government supervision of this, he'd want to show up here eventually." She rubbed her temples. "This was supposed to be a private study. When I found out about this, I thought it was too similar to your case. Naturally, I also thought I could get this handled quickly, but here we are."

"Things don't always go according to plan."

"I know that! But now he's got his eye on me. And you. I have a feeling he somehow knows about what's happening."

"So I'm not the only one with that suspicion."

"He's not one you can trust. I got into this because I had to. You, on the other hand, you could've just ignored it." She frowned, an eyebrow raised quizzically. "Why did you decide to call and offer to help me? Philanthropy isn't the only thing."

"Why, indeed." Instead of answering her, he stared outside the window, observing the still leaves on branches, unmoving, as if waiting for his reply.

Tsunade, about to press on for an answer, felt her phone vibrate on the table. Eyeing the notification on the screen, she bolted out of her seat and grabbed her laptop placed on the dresser beside the small bed. Flipping it open, she began typing and moving the touchpad.

Itachi noticed the sudden commotion and stood up, arms folded.

Tsunade's eyes frantically skim and read through whatever was on the screen. Moving her finger across the touchpad, she quickly typed password after password through the private server. Then, finally, she clicked on something.

He walked over to where she was, and, since there was no protest, looked over her shoulder to the image on her screen.

A thermal scan of the pathway formed in someone's body and on the forehead was a diamond formed. The red wasn't as big or bright as Tsunade's, but it was there, and it looked to Tsunade that it could be getting bigger.

"Is this..?"

"Sakura Haruno."

Thoughts of yesterday still on her mind, Sakura walked towards the nearby river. She was on her break and decided to head out to get some fresh air. The site had been feeling hotter than usual. She would question why, but she already knew the answer.

Except she didn't. Not all of them.

Looking at the clean blue waters beneath her, she decided to take her shoes off and maybe have her feet get a little wet as she'd sit by the water. She knew it could be breaking protocol, but it was tempting. Her hand gripped the bag slung across her body in contemplation.

However, she didn't get to make her mind up about it. At the corner of her eye, she saw a woman with greying hair and wrinkles adorning her face. She had a cane in hand, as well, to help her stay up.

'Was this..?' She straightened up and walked to her. "Hello, ma'am, you can't be around this area."

Before she could take another step further, a black cat jumped out of the bushes and stopped in front of her. Meowing loudly at her, it sat down, tail wagging behind it.

"I can be wherever I want. It's you lot that are trespassing."

That was an answer Sakura wasn't expecting. "Yes, there's a medical investigation being held. For your safety, it's advised to get away."

"Pfft!" She laughed. "I'll be fine."

'Okay, the others weren't kidding when they said she was a hard one to convince.'

"Ma'am-"

"Besides, chakra ain't going to hurt me… Unless deliberately."

Sakura tilted her head. "I don't know what this has to do with yoga-"

"Not yoga! Chakra as in the same thing you got! The same thing these people are getting!"

Her jaw dropped. "What?!"

The old woman sneered at her reaction. "Are you always this slow?"

"No, I just… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Follow me."

And with that the lady walked off, the black cat following in her footsteps.

Sakura knew she should be reporting to Tsunade soon, but her curiosity was piqued. The woman knew! Of course, her curiosity was piqued. But what if she was just crazy? What if she was spouting nonsense?

"I'm not gonna wait forever, missy!"

Sakura squeaked and before she knew it, she found herself following her into the forest.

She heard the sounds of cicadas all around her. There were occasional bird calls and rustling of leaves, as well, as she walked into the unknown. For an old woman with a cane, she was fast. Sakura lightly jogged behind her to keep up.

Not too long after, they had arrived in front of a little cottage, cats of all shapes and sizes surrounding it. Sakura cautiously walked towards the front steps, making sure she wasn't bothering the furry fellows. Eyes followed her, intrigued at the newcomer their master had brought home.

Sakura heard a door open and looked up to see the woman with her arms folded. "Well? Get in!"

"You're not, like, the witch in Hansel and Gretel, right?"

"Do I look like I wanna eat a little thin thing like you?"

The pinkette didn't respond but made her way in anyway. The door shut behind her as she looked around. There were even more cats inside the place than out.

'This is putting crazy cat lady to a whole new level.'

"Sit." The older woman beckoned for her, pointing at a newly vacated seat on the couch where a cat had just jumped off to make room. She sat down on a rocking chair opposite of the couch, a cat on her lap.

Gingerly, she did.

"It's you."

Sakura raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"A little kitty told me she saw you come in. Green eyes, pink hair. It is natural, right?"

"Yes," she replied, as if testing the word out.

"Great!" She cackled as she stood up, scaring the cat on her lap and making her jump onto the floor. Cane left on the chair, the woman excitedly walked to a drawer placed by the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. "You have no idea how long I've been itching for this thing to be off my hands."

"Wait!" Sakura got up, as well, hurriedly walking to the spot next to her. "What did you mean by chakra?"

"Chakra! You know, physical and spiritual energy!" She said, digging through her belongings in the drawer before sighing, frustrated, and closing it shut. She moved to the drawer next to it.

"So it is yoga?"

"Are you deaf? I told you no. That's stupid! Besides, I don't think you need that much exercise. You need more food in that body of yours, young lady! You're too young to be dieting."

Sakura didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't. "No, earlier. How did you know I have… whatever this is?"

"Chakra? I felt it! You have lots of it. Unlike this bag of bones here."

"You have it, too?" She said as she noticed a piece of fabric with a familiar symbol on it. But the colors looked off. "Isn't that the Uchiha Corp. symbol?"

"Nope. It's the old Uchiha Clan symbol. They used to come from here, y'know? Then went off to the city and succumbed to the sin of capitalism."

'This lady doesn't have a filter, at all.' She thought. "Why do you have it?"

"My family used to do business with them, y'see. Long ago."

"When you were a child?"

"Do I look that old? No, I meant longer ago."

"Ma'am, I-"

"It's Kyo Nakajima, but I get called Nekobaa a lot. Runs in the family." Another frustrated sigh left her chapped lips as she shut the drawer again. "Now, where did I put that damn thing?!"

The black cat that was with them at the riverbank pounced onto the drawer and meowed at Nekobaa. She snapped her fingers. "Ah, yes! Thank you, Toma." Her feet quickly move her to the coffee table in front of the couch. She was about to get on her knees to get something from under it, but Sakura beat her to it.

On her knees, she let her hands search under the dark, wooden coffee table and felt a dusty box. Sliding it out, she let out a cough as a cloud of dust slid out with it.

Snatching it out of her hands, Nekobaa placed it on top of the table. "Thank you, pinky."

Sakura knew she was excited and had no clue why, so she decided to ask. "Why are you so sure it's for me?"

"Have you met anyone else with natural pink hair and green eyes? No. Thought so. This thing had been passed down in my family. And every time it did, we were always told to give it to someone with your hair and your eyes. And since I'm the last of my family, I'd rather not leave it collecting dust and curse my family's ghosts."

"Oh, that can't be true."

Nekobaa scoffed. "You didn't know chakra existed, yet you have it. Things aren't always what you see, y'know." With that, she opened the dusty box. "There it is!"

It was a scroll. Even underneath the dust, it was clear that the paper yellowed with age and looked heavily worn. 'Just how old is that thing?' Sakura stared at it, still unsure of her part in whatever this was.

Taking it out of the box, Nekobaa blew on it to expel the dust that remained. Holding it out for her to see, she spoke. "I know you have a lot of questions-"

"That I definitely do."

"But hopefully this will answer them all."

Sakura touched the yellowed paper of the scroll. "Have you read it?" She placed it in her hands, feeling its weight.

Nekobaa shook her head. "We were never allowed to. But now that you have it, you can. All I know is that it's very important."

"But I-" Sakura had so many more questions, but the vibration from her bag she felt on her hip interrupted her before she had the chance to ask any of them. She didn't have to check. She knew she was being paged back.

Nekobaa noticed this. "Go. You must be busy. So young and already successful, I see."

"Oh, no. I'm not there yet. Soon, hopefully."

"Well, if the scroll is worthless, come back here. I can answer some questions, I think. Just not the when and a lot of the hows. Now, shoo! I don't want any of them city freaks near my property."

"But I'm from the city."

"Are you really?"

Sakura thought yesterday was strange, but today was challenging that head on.

It was dark out, and everyone had moved into their cabins and huts for some rest. All day, Sakura was itching to head back to hers and see what was inside the scroll.

When she got back from Nekobaa's place, she only had time to drop her bag off to her hut before returning to her duties. Tsunade was acting off. She was used to her cutthroat, straight to the point manner, but there seemed to be something bugging her. The stress she must endure spearheading the entire operation must be tough. But she'd never witnessed it undermining her performance.

She shook her head. She was Tsunade Senju. She will be fine tomorrow. Still, she was worried.

Sakura walked to her bed where she placed her sling bag containing the scroll. Sitting, she unzipped it and gingerly took the scroll out. Turning it from one side to another, she carefully examined its unopened state. With a deep breath, she touched the end where the paper ends and slowly unrolled it.

Her heart was beating, excited for some concrete answers. Sweat formed on her temples, the heat of the area adding to her want.

But there was nothing in there.

Her shoulder slumped. Was it all just a ruse? Was there some sort of hidden camera in there?

She continued unrolling it until she reached the very end where one single sentence greeted her: Only those with the eyes can see.

Confused and frustrated, Sakura groaned. She should've known that old lady was crazy. Who lived with that many cats and retained their sanity? She plopped onto her bed, her feet dangling on the edge. Rubbing her temples, she exhaled. "What 'eyes'?"

She laid there in silence for a few minutes before reaching for her phone and putting on a search engine.

'Maisō, Japan.'

The Wikipedia page had standard information that she didn't need. And the other links didn't tell her anything either. Out of the sheer thirst for answers, any type of answer, she typed in 'Maisō Japan eyes'. Nothing on the first page caught her attention. She continued onto the following pages until she landed on one mentioning the small town's lore. The website had a dark brown background, giving it a sort of woodsy feel. Her eyes looked at the links it provided.

She read the welcome page first, to see if it had any legitimacy to it. The writer claimed that his family is from the small village. He grew up listening to folk tales and stories from his grandparents who lived there until their deaths. He hadn't visited the place since but mentioned making plans to.

Deciding to go forward and read the contents of the website, she clicked on the link that would allegedly take her to a page explaining folklore she didn't even know the village had.

When I was a child, my grandmother loved talking about stories her grandparents and their grandparents before them shared with them of an energy us humans have lost, something that helped us create incredible things. But she also talked about how that power helped destroy what was created.

She never knew what that energy was called, only that it used to be part of our bodies. But for a long time, it had been lost. But she told me she didn't believe it was all gone.

She said the village that once stood before Maisō was a village so powerful that it was hidden in leaves to keep that power safe. My grandfather always argued this, saying that it was just a metaphor. But they did agree on the village's impact.

He said our family was told to be one of importance, that we had help from the shadows. It sounded ominous to me, as a child, but hearing their stories wasn't a drag, like I thought it was going to be.

They mentioned other powerful families, including one so powerful, they shook the balance of the world. They never could remember a name, but they did remember that their power came from something called a mirror wheel eye: The Sharingan. They didn't know what exactly it could do, but they were always certain of its power.

"But with that power came pain," my grandfather would say, and he'd leave it at that, never answering the questions I asked him. "It's a story too dark for someone your age," he'd say.

With Maisō's, or what it used to be, influence, there were many times of trouble. She talked of stories of the village facing destruction by giant animals, a war, hell, even aliens, if you could believe that.

Of course, I found some to be far too unbelievable, but as a child, they were stories I loved hearing.

- To be updated.

Signed, Nara.

"Papa?" She exclaimed, voice filled with pleasant surprise.

He turned around and saw her smiling brightly at him. She looked to be a little taller than she was the last time he was home. The last time… He wondered how long it would be until he could stay longer than a month at home with his family. But he had duties to uphold. Sins he still felt that he hadn't atoned for. But whenever he would look at her and see the subtle changes she'd grow into, like when her hair grew a bit longer or she'd grow an inch taller, he'd feel a sense of disappointment in himself. The dobe's son was right in suggesting to spend time with her.

"You're back? Since when?"

"Just a little while ago."

"But what are you doing here?"

"Boruto told me you'd be here."

She looked a little flustered. "Boruto did?"

"Are you about to train?"

Her hands met on her chest, her eyes shifting from one place to another, nervous. "Um… Well.."

'She looks so much like me but so much like her mother, too.' He mused inwardly as a smile formed on his lips, enjoying seeing her mother's tendencies on her. She truly was their daughter. "Do you want to go check out the festival?"

Raising her head and meeting his eyes, she looked a little surprised. Then, she gave him a wide smile, cheeks flushing as she excitedly replied, "We can?!"

He placed a hand on her hair, ruffling it up a little. "Let's go, Sarada."

With that big smile, she nodded. He wanted her to smile like that more, and if being home more would make that happen, he would.

Sasuke felt his eyes open slowly, the light in his room making him struggle doing so. 'I must've left it on.' He groaned.

Getting up, he stared at the window to his right at the trees that made up the forest around him. Trees. The vision he saw earlier in the day still haunted his thoughts. He had been trying to find reasons to explain it. He thought maybe he just fell asleep. But Naruto said he was awake and hadn't spoken for a minute, going eerily quiet.

He rubbed his head, annoyed. He didn't want to get caught up in that. Getting off the bed, he headed to the kitchen. Maybe a late night snack would get his mind off of things.

He expected the kitchen to be empty, but he saw Naruto by the table, cup ramen in front of him with noodles falling cartoonishly out of his mouth. "Hey." He said, voice muffled.

Sasuke nodded in response.

"You got the late night munchies, too? What are you getting?"

"A salad."

Naruto gulped down the noodles. "What's with your obsession with salads?"

"They're a healthier option than cup ramen." Sasuke opened the fridge and grabbed a premade salad they brought with them to the trip.

"Haha," Naruto put his chopsticks down. "I mean, your password is 'sarada,' too. You giving up tomatoes?"

"Tomatoes can be in salad." Placing the salad on the table, he took a seat.

"You're being evasive."

"You're being annoying."

"Love you, too, brother."

Sasuke sighed. "Whatever."

It was quiet after that. Only the sounds of Naruto's slurping and the soft crunches of the leafy vegetables that Sasuke was putting in his mouth were heard. When Naruto's bowl was empty, he stared at the stained plastic, thoughts going back to what he was imagining yesterday when they just arrived.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Do you get the feeling that this place feels… off?"

The fork heading to Sasuke's mouth stopped midway, Sasuke's mouth left open. Slowly, he put the fork down and met his best friend's stare. "What makes you say that?"

"Just… yesterday. I feel like I had this dream, but I was awake, y'know?"

He kept quiet for a moment, thinking of how to reply. When he felt like he found the words, he heard a loud yell coming from his brother's room.

He shot up to his feet. Naruto did, too. With a brief look at each other, they ran to the older Uchiha's room, concerned. Itachi was never phased by much. It couldn't be a bug or an animal. Something was happening.

Sasuke slammed the door open, and he and Naruto ran inside.

Itachi was cradling his head on his hands with a vice-like grip, as he used his desk as support for his lower body. His screams continued, loud and alarming. Naruto was about to run to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen for a pain reliever, something to help what looked like a god awful migraine but a drop of red onto the table stopped him from moving.

"Itachi!" Sasuke ran to his side, putting his hand around his shoulders to support him. He felt something drip onto his shirt.

Crimson.

Coming from his brother's face. From his eyes shut tight.

"I'll call the emergency line!" Naruto said, panicked.

"No," Itachi said, voice sounding like sandpaper. "Don't."

Slowly raising his head, the blood continued to fall freely down from his face to his clothes and to the floor. "They wouldn't know what to do."

Naruto was paralyzed, frozen in place as he took in the sight before him.

Sasuke felt his insides churn, his jaw clicking.

Itachi opened his eyes, and staring back at them they saw it.

Red.

Note:

Map included in the AO3 upload of this fic.

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